Lomm wrote:I knew about the hair parting on the wrong side thing, but I thought that happened before he got to be a name star.

Could be. Von Sternberg reportedly never let the facts get in the way of a good story, especially when it made him look like a starmaker. Still, his autobiography, "Fun in a Chinese Laundry," is a fun read, even though it reveals more about the size of the director's ego than it does the cold facts of his life and career.

The story was certainly different. Norma ( Mary Pickford) played the role of a flirt, but eventually fell for Michael ( Johnny Mack Brown). However, Dad did not approve, and Norma was forbidden to see him. But Norma did see him and was caught in a harmless but compromising position. Tragedy followed as the story unfolded. Although I enjoyed this film very much I did not think that Mary Pickford `s performance warranted an Oscar (but what do I know anyway).. Apparently I was not the only one who thought this, I found this para on IMDB.

Mary Pickford's performance received universally negative reviews but she secured winning the Oscar by inviting members of the Academy's judging committee to her Pickfair mansion for luncheons. Outrage over her being given the award forced the Academy to change its procedures for selecting the winners.

You guys -- someone posted the full version of NIGHT WORLD (1932) on YouTube! This has been like the holy grail for me for many years -- very difficult to find. Check it out before Universal has it pulled!

I've only watched the first ten minutes as of this writing, and had to stop to let you know. I'll circle back and gush about it in the next few days.

[Hmmm needs more exclamation marks: !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!]

"Immorality may be fun, but it isn't fun enough to take the place of one hundred percent virtue and three square meals a day."Goodnight Basington

Lately I've been indulging in Pre-Codes I haven't seen before and it's been too much fun.

Picture Snatcher (1933): A fun, naughty little WB film. I've seen lots of James Cagney films and this might be my favorite and my favorite Cagney performance (yes, more than Public Enemy and Yankee Doodle Dandy, both of which I love). Young Ralph Bellamy is his usual reliable self and Alice White is a sexy little ball of fire.

I Love That Man (1933): very rarely seen Paramount comedy-drama with Edmund Lowe as a gambling-addicted con man and Nancy Carroll as the woman who loves him. But the guys who steal the show are Driller (Robert Armstrong) and Mousey (Warren Hymer), the two gangsters who are double-crossed by Lowe's character and seek vengeance.

Goldie (1931): remake of the silent film A Girl in Every Port. A Fox Studio rarity with early Spencer Tracy, early Jean Harlow and of course, Warren Hymer. The script is kinda weak, the original film is superior but I can watch Warren Hymer smoke a cigar while reading the phone book and still be thoroughly entertained.

feaito wrote:Yesterday I saw "The Vanishing American" (1925) a fine Western directed by George B. Seitz starring Richard Dix (who's very good and believable in his role) as a Native American living in a Reservation Camp in the West during the time of WWI. Dix plays a decent, honest, likable, pacific and good-natured Indian, something unusual in American cinema and that's to be lauded. He's the hero of the picture and the "white" girl (lovely Lois Wilson, giving a sensitive, nuanced performance) falls for him. Noah Beery plays one of the slimiest and most unpleasant villains I have seen lately; I hated him on sight. Malcolm McGregor is a young soldier who falls for Wilson, but whose love is unrequited. The film begins with a prologue that depicts all the inhabitants of the area where the Reservation is located from the beginning of time, going through the Spanish Invasion during the XVIth Century et al. Most of the actors who play native americans are so, and the film also shows the bravery of these people when the went to fight for the USA during WWI.

What I did not like: the excessive use of intertitles and the organ score.

Nothing to disagree with here. I thought the movie had great use of the landscape and an extraordinary amount of extras. THe fight scenes were well staged. This was especially so of the attack of the cave dwelling Natives early in the picture. Richard Dix can be a little over the top but I often expect that of some silent era actors. Beery, as Fernando shares, is properly slimy and you feel WIlson's disgust as he makes advances to her. An interesting story covering an interesting time. When it was made it really covered the 10 years prior so in that sense it is a very modern film even though it still feels like a western. Especially so at the end. If you like sweeping action and beautiful use of the land check this one out.

The current version employed more of a electronic keyboard and its sounds than an organ. The title cards were prevalent I like the way they actually introduced the actors with their parts.